A much improved Long Beach State women’s basketball team from last season will still not be good enough to come out on top at the Big West Tournament.
The 49ers received the third seed in the tourney after finishing the season with 23 overall wins and 12 conference wins.
LBSU has improved over last season in several ways. One being that they have played better within conference play.
Last season, the team finished with a 9-7 record in conference and lost in the tournament quarterfinals against UC Davis. This season the tides have turned in favor of the 49ers as they swept every team in the division with the exception of UC Riverside and Hawai’i, both of which swept the 49ers.
Another major difference from last year is junior guard Raven Benton will actually suit up on Wednesday for the tournament. Benton was out during LBSU’s final seven games last season with a leg injury.
With Benton in the lineup, the 49ers are much better three-point shooting team. LBSU is shooting 35.7 percent behind the arc, whereas last year the 49ers shot 31.9 percent. Benton is also averaging more points this year against Big West opponents, scoring 13.5 points per game compared to the 12.0 ppg she averaged last season.
LBSU will be playing Cal Poly in the quarterfinal round and will likely defeat the Mustangs. The 49ers have proven to be the superior team, defeating Cal Poly in both regular season games; 65-53 inside the Walter Pyramid on Jan. 30 and 61-56 at San Luis Obispo on Feb. 24.
In both games LBSU outplayed the Mustangs in the fourth quarter outscoring them by a combined 42-15.
The 49ers are improved, but the reason why they will fall short in the tournament is because Hawai’i will once again prove to be superior to LBSU in the tournament semifinals.
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The Rainbow Wahine swept the 49ers this season, winning on Jan. 7 inside the Walter Pyramid and on Feb. 11 in Honolulu, Hawai’i. Both times UH won by double-digits and dropped over 60 points.
Benton scored 23 points in the first meeting, however in the second meeting Hawai’i completely shut Benton down. LBSU’s leading scorer went scoreless, going 0-8 from the field and 0-2 from behind the arc.
In both games, the Rainbow Wahine outrebounded the 49ers 52-29 and 53-30. Hawai’i also shot the ball better, outshooting LBSU 41.7 to 34 percent in the first meeting and 37.9 to 25.4 percent in the second.
Even if LBSU sneaks past UH in the semifinals, UC Riverside will be waiting in the finals with a perfect 17-0 record against conference opponents.
UC Riverside looks like the sure winner of the tourney due to their high powered offense. The Highlanders are averaging a conference-leading 78.8 points per game and have the Big West leading scorer Brittany Crain. Crain is averaging 22.3 ppg and was named the Big West Player of the Year for the second consecutive time.
The 49ers have also proven they are no match for the Highlanders. UCR beat LBSU by a combined score of 161-118 across two games this season on Jan. 13 inside the Walter Pyramid and on Feb. 18 in Riverside.
LBSU is a much better team, but they should look to next year to make real noise in the tourney with a ton of returning players such as Benton, forward Madison Montgomery, guard Anna Kim and forward Jewelyn Sawyer who will all be seniors.